Sonya's Destiny
by scarygothchick
Summary: After a rip opens and the team is alerted to a nearby desserted island, Sonya is the only one who sees a mysterious person that asks for her assistance. Sonya is whisked away to a different world, leaving her old friends behind.
1. The Dream

This is based on Mortal Kombat: The Animated Series. It only lasted 13 episodes.... But I loved it. So, I decided to make up my own fanfiction based on it. It's good to remember some things that happened in the series.... But you can pretty much follow along anyway. My favorite character (from the series anyway, lol. Sindel is my favorite in the game) is Sonya Blade, so you will find this is mostly about her. Sorry lol. I'll stop blabbering, and let you read it for yourself.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Sonya Blade lay asleep on her bed. She slept in her normal battle clothes, just in case the red alarm sounded in the night. She was sprawled out lazily, as she turned over. She kept turning over uneasily as an image entered her mind.  
  
She stood in the front of a great castle, guarding it. All around her men in armor with shields and swords fought other men in darker armor. Children were crying for their parents as houses erupted in giant, crimson flames. People in rags and plain colored clothing screamed and cried in agony as the dark-armored men attacked and even killed some of them. Some were even left behind as others ran and tripped over them to try and escape the chaos. She looked up and saw a woman enveloped in shadow sit upon a great black stallion as she held up a staff with four colored jewels on it. She noticed there were a red ruby, yellow opal, green emerald, and a blue diamond. Runes were also written on the staff, but she had no idea what they meant.  
  
She noticed she was wearing different attire: a dark blue cape with a gold emblem embroidered on it, a small golden tiara adorned her head, and she, too, had a golden staff. The top of it was curved and looked like something once set there. On the staff was also a rune, and she noticed that one of them was the same as one on the woman's staff. The woman looked like she just conquered the world and grinned as she watched Sonya fall to her knees and start to weep silent.  
  
Three bubbles of golden light hovered near the dark woman. In each bubble there lay a motionless silhouette of a person. She tried to make out who they were, but a loud, obscure noise jerked her from her sleep. She sat up and looked at the blinking red light on the ceiling and then stood up and ran into the hallway.  
  
She ran down the corridor to the control room. Princess Kitana, Lui Kang, and everyone else were already there, standing in a cluster around Nightwolf who was sitting at the controls typing speedily away. After a few seconds an image appeared on the screen. She ran to them and stood next to Jax, who looked half asleep. She crossed her arms in annoyance. "What's going on?"  
  
"Someone has made another portal from outworld and has come to the earth realm." Princess Kitana explained.  
  
"It looks like we'll have to fight your brother, Sub Zero." Lui Kang told Sub Zero who just crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the screen.  
  
Just then, Rayden appeared. His white, electrical eyes peered at them all treacherously. "Don't just stand there and fall asleep! Go fight and close the rip between the worlds! NOW!" he ordered. Everyone nodded and ran towards the ship bay, except Nightwolf who stayed at the controls. "Wait!" they all stopped and looked at Rayden expectantly. He looked at Jax. "Jax, you stay here." He then looked at Nightwolf. "Go with Sub Zero. Stryker," he looked at him. "Go with Sonya."  
  
"But Rayden-" Sonya started to object.  
  
"Do as I say!"  
  
"But Rayden!" everyone looked at Jax. "Why do I have to stay here?"  
  
"Because of what you did last time. You almost lost your life." He looked at everyone. "Now go!"  
  
"Sorry Jax." Stryker whispered before everyone continued running to the shipbay.  
  
Sonya looked down at the floor before looking at Rayden evilly. She then ran to catch up to everyone. Jax sighed as Rayden narrowed his eyes at Sonya's retreating back. 


	2. The Stranger

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the second chapter. This story seems slow at first.... But trust me, it shall get better.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sonya entered the ship bay and noticed that everyone already were in their jets. She ran to the third and last one and jumped in behind Stryker. The lid closed and Stryker turned the engine on. Sonya fastened her seatbelt. The jets hovered up before flying forward into the dark sky. Sonya noticed the moon glowed brightly. "It's so beautiful." she whispered as she watched it.  
  
"Stay focused," Stryker ordered sternly while keeping his eyes in front of him. "The enemy may attack us in the air. Be ready to initiate the torpedoes if necessary."  
  
Sonya sighed, but not loud enough for him to hear. She watched the other two jets on either side of them as they neared the edge of the island. They quickly flew above the large ocean. It was very dark under the moonlight. After flying a few miles over the flat ocean a small island came into view. She saw a lot of crumbled ruins clustered in the middle. The jets flew lower and landed on the island. The cockpit opened and Sonya and Stryker unlatched their seatbelts as they jumped out of the jet onto the island's beach. The others soon joined them. "I don't see any rip... or Sub-Zero either." Lui Kang exclaimed.  
  
He was right. They didn't see a familiar red-glowing portal anywhere within view, and usually whoever opened the rip brought a whole army with them. "Do you think it's a trick?" Stryker asked cautiously.  
  
"If it is, then my brother isn't here. Tricks aren't his style. Could it be Sheila or Reptile?" Sub-Zero replied, carefully peering around for any signs of movement through the trees.  
  
"No... it's no one we have been aware of before. Anyone else would have appeared by now." Kitana pointed out.  
  
"Let's split up. Sub-zero and I will search East, Lui Kang and Kitana can search west, Stryker you can stay here in case anyone does show up, and Sonya can go north." Nightwolf commanded, and everyone nodded before heading out to his or her different directions.  
  
Sonya walked north towards the ruins, wishing that Jax wasn't "suspended" from rip duty because of stupidity. Rayden could be a real prick for being an ancient Chinese god.  
  
After walking a few yards through a dense forest she reached the outskirts of the ruins. She still saw no movement or a rip anywhere and was beginning to think Nightwolf was going senile a few decades early and it was just a false alarm, when she came to the very heart of the ruins and noticed a whole wall of concrete still intact. She quickly ran to get a better look, and noticed a few paintings still hung there in perfect condition. After looking at them more closely she noticed they depicted medieval characters: unicorns, a princess, a few knights and a dragon with big, dark mysterious castles in the backgrounds.  
  
"Beautiful, aren't they?" Sonya, startled at the voice, turned around.  
  
"Um... yeah..." she agreed, trying not to laugh. The man was dressed as a prince or something, she wasn't sure what. But on a deserted island like this, who was he? What was he doing here? He looked nice enough. In his royal "garb", could he be the one that came from outworld?  
  
"My name is Edward." He offered to shake her hand, but she refused. He shrugged and put it down. "I need your help."  
  
Undoubtedly, Sonya was very confused. Evil people that created rips never asked for their "help". She quickly looked around, seeing no army. She still wanted to be on her guard, and brought up her wristwatch, ready to call for backup.  
  
"No. That isn't necessary. I need your help, no need to call your friends." She put her arm down, but still wasn't convinced.  
  
"I'm sure my friends could help you more than I could by myself. And you haven't even explained why you're here... or why you need my help."  
  
Edward sighed, as if he didn't really want any questions asked. "It's confusing..." He looked around himself, as if looking for someone that could be watching. "We shouldn't talk here."  
  
Sonya wondered where else they could talk. It's not as if they had many places to hide. On an island this size, you probably could have no privacy. "Where could we go?"  
  
Edward took her hand, and led her behind the wall. Then, he walked to the center, and stomped lightly on the ground. At first, dirt rose up and created nothing but a dusty fog. But then, a compartment opened, and there were stone stairs leading down. Edward walked in first, waiting for her to follow. She looked around, hoping someone would see them and rush to see what she found. Or rather, whom she found. She knew that Jax wouldn't have left her side, not as the others did. But none of the team was there. She felt reservations about following this man, she didn't even know him, and wanted to find someone to go with her. But then, she knew that she was most often the one targeted for "help" by strangers, and strange is definitely what they all seemed to be; strange at first, anyway. Sooner or later her friends found her again, and they helped together, and then the stranger went off on some perilous journey, and life went on as usual. She relaxed, and followed Edward down the stairs, the compartment closing behind them. 


	3. Down the Staircase

She was instantly surprised to find lit torches, set into sconces on the stonewalls of the staircase. Without them, there would be nothing but darkness. "Where are we?" she asked him, as she followed close behind.  
  
"We're in an underground level. I know about you, Sonya Blade. Have you ever seen this island before? Surely you and your friends have circled to the ends of your realm. Have you ever seen this place on your travels?"  
  
Sonya thought for a moment, and although they had come to islands before (in fact, Reptile favored them) they never encountered this one. She wondered how they hadn't been able to see it previously, since it wasn't even that far away.  
  
"This island is usually shrouded in something. During the day, it's camouflaged, appearing to be part of the ocean itself. During the night, it's surrounded in a thick mist, that even if someone were to cut through the depths of, they would never be able to find it. Someone wanted you to find it, and so made it visible to you."  
  
Sonya stopped in her tracks. They hadn't even reached the bottom of the stairs yet, and Edward noticed and turned around. "You're the one that wanted it to be visible to us, aren't you?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you created that fake disturbance, didn't you? So that Nightwolf would detect a rip here."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I knew you were smart. That's why I wanted your help. But, since you found out most of it already, well... I sent your friends on a wild goose chase, so that I could get to you. I needed to find out how to contact you, without causing an alarm."  
  
"You don't get it..." Sonya explained. "My disappearance will cause an alarm enough."  
  
Edward sighed. "You're the one that doesn't get it. They won't be able to find you. Your friends can't see the ruins. Otherwise, you know one of them would have come here first. All they can see are trees, lots of them. Only you can see these ruins. That's how I wanted it."  
  
"But... how? How can you do that?"  
  
Edward looked around. "Come with me, and you'll learn everything. I promise."  
  
"And... later, after all of this, I can return to my friends?"  
  
He was silent a moment. "If you wish to return, then yes, you're allowed." He continued looking at her for a moment, before turning back around and continuing down the stairs.  
  
Sonya looked at her wristwatch. Whether he knew it or not, she knew that there was a detecting device in it, that would lead them to her. She took a deep breath, and made the conscience decision to take it off, drop it to the cold floor, and smash it beyond recognition. Somehow, she knew they shouldn't know about where she was. And she hoped, that whenever this ordeal was done, she could find them again somehow. 


	4. Left Behind

"I haven't been able to find anything." Sub-Zero explained as he returned to the jets. Stryker leaned against the jet, obviously not encountering anything either. Within moments, NightWolf appeared, and then so did Kitana and Lui-Kang. No one found anything.  
  
"Maybe you were wrong, Night-Wolf." Styker said mockingly. "This wouldn't be the first time..."  
  
"I'm sure whatever it was, it's gone now." Lui-Kang said. "No crazy half- men, half-chicken beats from Outworld.... Nothing. It probably got whatever it was after and left, before we could get here."  
  
Night-Wolf turned on his communicator, and signaled the base. Rayden came on the screen. "Found anything yet?"  
  
"No... whatever was here, it's gone now. We haven't been able to find a trace of anything, or even a rip."  
  
"Great..." Rayden grumbled. "Return to H.Q." Night-wolf nodded, and the screen went blank. He sighed, bringing his wrist down. "Maybe we're getting slow in our old age..."  
  
They all had to laugh at that. No one grew old here.  
  
"I guess we should just return." Lui-Kang offered.  
  
"No...." Kitana interrupted them, looking concerned. "Sonya isn't back yet."  
  
Stryker sighed. "Why did she have to be paired with me? She's unreliable... Remember what she did before? She's as bad as Jax."  
  
Nightwolf turned on his communicator again, and attempted to contact Sonya. He got nothing, just static. He tried again; again getting through to nothing. "Uh-oh.... Maybe whatever it was kidnapped her. Like with Reptile."  
  
Stryker sighed. "You've got to be joking."  
  
"Whatever happened, her communicator is broken." Night-wolf explained, quickly contacting Rayden again. "Rayden, Sonya's not answering her communicator. I want you to try and attempt to detect where she is."  
  
The screen went blank again for a few seconds, and then he came back on. "No... I can't detect her at all. She's a strong girl. She can take care of herself. Return back here."  
  
"But Rayden.... "Night-wolf stopped protesting when he got one of his death glares. He sighed, nodded, and shut it off. "Let's go." He walked to his jet, and everyone followed suit. 


	5. Fallen into Captivity

They finally reached the bottom, and she noticed that they hadn't even begun. There was a huge labyrinth of stone passages, torches blaring fire everywhere. She was frightened, yet silently in awe at the same time. Edward didn't stop walking, however, he just continued down the corridor.  
  
"Where exactly are we going?" she asked, catching up to him. "I mean... what is that you want me to do?"  
  
"There's this woman, her name is Arandia. She has my brother held captive, and I'd like you to help me get him back. She enjoys creating rips between worlds... which is why I chose you, if you'd like to know."  
  
Sonya was smart enough to know that wasn't the real story, at least not the whole one. She could sense, even without knowing him too well, that he was keeping something from her. Kabal kept something from her too, though, the first time they met so long ago. She figured that if she were to be patient enough, the rest would soon fall through and in place.  
  
They seemed to walk forever. Some of the walls were spotted with green moss, and dampness clung to every stone. She was surprised not to see rats scampering about, or to hear any strange noises. But she realized that it wasn't really a sewer.... It seemed to be something else, like a secret passage. After turgidly approaching what seemed to be the near center... Edward stopped. She stopped as well, wondering what was up. No one was in front of them, and nothing really seemed to be different. She looked at him, and noticed that he was listening intently to something, although she didn't hear a thing.  
  
She was startled that he grabbed her hand, and began to lead her forward slowly. "I can sense that my brother is around here... somewhere..." She looked through to the other side of the hall, but saw no one. "I want you to go look for me." He let go of her hand, and she let it fall to her side.  
  
"Wait... you mean I have to do this alone? I don't even know your brother... or this lady... I mean..."  
  
"Arandia will notice if I come. It will be easier for you to sneak up on them, and then just signal and I'll join you. I'll be right behind you."  
  
Sonya hesitated, but after a second or so, she continued to the end of the hall. It branched off into opposite directions. She turned back towards him for which way to turn, when she noticed that she was alone. "Great..." After mumbling to herself, she realized she might as well turn right. Maybe Edward had some strange ability to turn invisible? Ha. Right.  
  
She continued, still noticing nothing different around her. After awhile, though, she noticed that the moss she saw spotted everywhere clinging to the walls had begun to carpet the stone floor. It crept up the walls as well, creating a spider-web effect. There was obviously something fishy about it, but it thickly covered the space for at least three yards ahead. She couldn't leap over it completely... so she decided to just walk through it.  
  
She made it fine the first few steps, but as she came towards the center, she heard something snap. She screamed as the floor... no, a net surrounded her, raising her up to the ceiling. A net camouflaged to be part of the moss, and the spider web effect of the moss actually made up the sides of the net. "Edward!" she yelled, waiting for a response. There was nothing. She was alone, swinging in a net of moss.  
  
"Do you like my little trick?" A woman's voice came out of nowhere, and the carpet of moss slowly disappeared in a foggy mist. A lady appeared, and Sonya assumed it was Arandia. She looked like an evil, ancient princess... with malicious eyes, dark raven hair... and of course, the same dark henchman that all of the evil rip-creators seem to have. Only, Sonya was surprised to find that Edward was the evil henchman that bowed at Arandia's feet. "Thank you, my son. This was a perfect gift, indeed." Arandia looked at Sonya again, grinning. "One of the earth warriors... a perfect gift indeed." She repeated. 


	6. Moving On

For some reason I got a review on chapter 4, but not on chapter five when it was actually uploaded... o.O So, I'm wondering if anyone actually sees that chapter... even though I do... * shrugs * I hope everyone can... lol. Here's another note: I think, a few descriptive words I've used don't really match what's going on... such as, in chapter five I put "turgidly" when I meant "tortuously". I've been procrastinating going in and changing it... lol and then, in this chapter there's "insinuating" which I'm not sure describes what I'd like it to, but I couldn't really think of the correct word, and I liked how it sounded lol. So... yeah. Anyway, I hope people enjoy this story. And thank you for taking the time to read it, and of course review it. It means a lot to me. I hope I can take the time to actually add to it regularly... I'll try lol. Anyway... I'll shut up now. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Jax shook is head, as if not sure what to believe. "What do you mean Sonya didn't come back? None of you went with her?"  
  
"No... we're not exactly her pack of baby-sitters." Stryker retorted, setting Jax off.  
  
"What happened to sticking together?" Jax asked incredulously.  
  
"That's only when we actually see a rip and have to fight something or someone, and besides, you and Sonya never really followed that rule-"  
  
"Stryker, please." Night-wolf interrupted him, and Stryker immediately backed down, still looking peeved. "Jax, we went in different directions in order to find the rip. That's the only way it could have been done. But no one found anything. Unless Sonya did, in that case, I'm sure we'll be able to find her somehow, so stop freaking."  
  
Jax sighed, and looked down at the floor. "If only I was there..."  
  
Night-wolf quickly put his hand on Jax's shoulder in reassurance, and Kitana and the rest stood around him. "I'm sure she's fine."  
  
"I'd like my little group of mourning earth warriors to come and look at this." Rayden called, standing a few feet away facing the computer screen.  
  
"What is it?" Kitana asked as the she and the rest of them slowly approached where Rayden was looking.  
  
"That island you were at only half an hour or so ago? Well, it's gone now." Rayden explained, looking at the screen where there seemed to be only an ocean, although they were looking at the exact same coordinates as when they first looked at the island earlier that night.  
  
"But.... how is that possible?" Lui Kang asked, somewhat skeptical sounding. "I mean... it was just there... we didn't even find anything suspicious about it..."  
  
"We definitely need to keep checking back. It's almost dawn anyway; I'm sure maybe it only appears during the night. But what should we do about Sonya? We can't leave her, wherever she is..." Night-wolf said, looking at Rayden for input.  
  
Rayden sighed. "Well, we can't do anything about it now. I'm sure whoever took her wants some sort of, retribution. That's how these things work. I'm sure whoever sent that alarm will appear again, we'll just have to wait." Rayden explained to them, ignoring Jax's pissed off glare.  
  
"We can't just leave her..." Jax started, but was interrupted yet again by Stryker.  
  
"There's nothing we can do about it." He insinuated, and everyone heard Jax sigh before he walked off, mumbling goodnight, even though the sun was just coming up. 


	7. No Way Back

Another author's note: Okay... I'm putting in a character from another animated series, Street Fighter. This fanfic is based on MK: the animated series, and SF: the animated series to certain extents, the same series that were shown on USA like... six years ago or so. I'll try to remember what I can, but I may get some things messed up. Sorry in advance lol. Anyway, the series is all I really remember from SF and MK, either way, besides the movies. I know a lot of people didn't really like them that much (sucky animation...) but they have a fond place in my memories, and that is why I am using the characters (and their personalities) more from the series and not from the video games or the movies, since they are a little different in each media revenue either way. One more thing, I'm not putting this under "crossovers" because I'm not using the SF main characters, only Cammy. I hope that's okay. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Sonya..." Sonya flipped over, without batting an eyelid. "Sonya...wake up." After feeling someone shake her, she awoke with a start, seeing someone very familiar next to her. It was Cammy White.  
  
"Cammy? What...? Where are we?" she asked, quickly sitting up against a pillow. She noticed she was laying on a cot, in a small, bare room. "What happened to Arandia and..."  
  
"She put us here." Cammy answered, watching as Sonya quickly stood up out of bed and ran to the door. "No use, it's locked."  
  
Sonya sighed disappointedly, not even bothering to check for sure. She knew Cammy would have been right. "So now what?" she asked then, leaning against the door and crossing her arms. "We're stuck here until that lady does whatever she wants to do with us? I mean, what, she wants our teammates to come busting down the door to save us or something?"  
  
"No... she only wanted us. Why? I have no clue. But... how did she get you?"  
  
"What do you mean? We need to figure out how-"but Cammy wasn't listening.  
  
"Well, how did she capture you? She used the other brother, right?"  
  
"What? Oh... yeah. Edward. He caught me on a mission on some deserted island, next thing I know I'm walking through the labyrinth thinking I was about to do a good deed by helping him, when I get caught in a net of lies... physically and mentally. I thought he was serious..."  
  
"I don't know what island you're talking about, mate, but Alexander, the younger one, got me in the city. He tried to ask for 'help' as well, but I knew better." Cammy explained, leaning her back against the wall.  
  
"If you knew better, then why..."  
  
"Because. I noticed something about him. When you've been in the same situation, you've noticed when others are in it too."  
  
"Cammy..." Sonya sighed again, more annoyingly though. "I don't care about what 'situation' they're in. I just want to get out of here, get to my friends, and tell them what's going on. This lady is definitely onto something..."  
  
"We can't get out without their help." Cammy declared, and Sonya waited for her to continue. "They've both been brainwashed; and in all actuality, unless you earth warriors have been given the power to create portals and not just close them, we're lost without them anyway."  
  
"What are you talking about? Edward looked more than comfortable calling Arandia "mother" and vice versa, he can't be brainwashed. Even if they both are, why should we help them?" Sonya walked back to Cammy, sitting next to her. "Give me your communicator, maybe I can get Raiden's frequency, then he can create a portal here and get us. No helping creepy brethren out. We defeat them, tie up any evil she's done, and we're gone."  
  
"I don't have my communicator, Alexander took it from me when I wasn't paying attention... usually I'm better about such things... but we're in another realm, we wouldn't be able to get his frequency anyway. And, they are to brainwashed, otherwise, why would they call her "mother" when they are both as grown as we are?"  
  
"I don't know Cammy, maybe they just never grew out of it." She said incredulously. "But, hello... there's no way I'm helping them, even if you're right."  
  
"There's no other way to get out of here, Sonya. Either help them and get out, and that means helping them with Arandia as well, not just un- brainwashing them and then splitting, or staying and dealing with Arandia on our own, with no way to escape even if we do win." She offered those two choices, and then sat silently, waiting for Sonya to respond. Sonya thought a few seconds.  
  
"Fine... but how are we going to help them? Do you have an 'un-brainwashing kit' laying around somewhere, complete with a how-to manual to get their attention first? There's no way we're going to do this while imprisoned here."  
  
Cammy grinned. "I'm only prepared in two senses: my fighting power... or," she started reaching into her uniform, quickly revealing a hairpin. "My ability to pick locks with small, sharp, metal objects."  
  
"If you could pick the lock all along, why didn't you do it earlier?"  
  
Cammy didn't comment, just started walking to the door, beginning her work with the hairpin as Sonya sat and waited. 


	8. Hidden Weapons

Cammy shifted her weight, from kneeling on one knee to the other one. She also shifted her position so that she could jiggle the pin in farther in a different direction, and within seconds the door clicked open. "Bingo."  
  
Sonya looked over from lying on her side. "Excellent..." She stood up and rushed to the door, peering through the crack as Cammy stood up, looking over her shoulder. "Where in the world are we...?" she asked aloud, as she opened the door wider, stepping into a hallway. "Are we back in time or something?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Cammy stepped out behind her, and gasped. "Are those real?" She rushed across the hallway to look at a giant tapestry on the wall. She looked along the hallway, seeing nothing but a long stone hallway with a red carpet stretched across the floor, with sconces and tapestries on the walls.  
  
"These look just like the ones I saw on that island..." Sonya stepped closer to the tapestry across from the room they were in, examining it. "Like... a total medieval feel, or something."  
  
Cammy carefully looked around from where she was standing, and her eyes grew suspicious as she eyed something near the ceiling. "Definitely a_ feel_, but not real. Look at that... there's a camera in the corner, next to that high sconce on the wall, so it's easily camouflaged."  
  
Sonya backed up against the wall near the other side, being sure to be directly under the camera. She slowly concentrated before sending a pink ball of energy zooming towards it, blowing it into pieces. "Anymore of them? We're not exactly on friendly ground. If we destroy them, we need to get out of this hallway before they figure out the connection's been lost."  
  
"There's one at the end of the hallway, but it's pointed in a different direction, so I doubt it's spotted us."  
  
"How can you tell? The hallway is a mile long practically..." Sonya walked down the corridor, keeping close to the wall, looking for more cameras that Cammy may have missed. Cammy stepped behind her.  
  
"I wished I'd brought my gun..." she muttered. "I don't have pink, sparkly balls of energy that race out of my hands as I bid them." She joked. "If there are cameras, there must be henchman with guns around here somewhere..."  
  
"And you want them to find us?" Sonya asked, slinking slowly against the wall keeping her eyes peeled.  
  
"Why are you going so slow? We need to hurry up, why not just run down the hallway?"  
  
"Booby-traps. They were in the labyrinth I was in, and they may be in this castle or whatever too. Ugh... I wish I hadn't taken off my communicator... even if we are in some different realm. This is going to be difficult by ourselves."  
  
"It's a challenge, mate. That's what we do. It's our job... even before we got involved with our colleagues. We were both in the armed forces. This should be a synch."  
  
"We were in the _armed_ forces. We aren't really _armed_ now, as you pointed out just minutes ago." Sonya stopped suddenly, Cammy almost ran into her.  
  
"What?" Sonya felt something with her gloved hand.  
  
"A button... Definitely not part of the wall originally, it's some sort secret passage or..."  
  
"Well don't blabber, go ahead and press it!" Cammy impatiently reached over and pushed the button next to Sonya's hand, and a door slid open, revealing a doorway. She rushed inside, pulling Sonya with her.  
  
Sonya let out a sigh of relief, as the room was empty of anyone. It contained exactly what they needed, though. There were disconnected cameras, but a few handguns and weapons were lying around too. "Excellent!" Cammy rushed to one of the handguns, picking it up and making sure it was loaded, and then placing it on herself. "This must be some sort of storage place. It isn't very big. The whole castle we're in must have them everywhere... It's remarkable no one is guarding it."  
  
Sonya stood near the door, not going near the weapons. Instead she kept a close eye on the door, making sure no one sprung upon them uninvited. "Now you have some nice toys to play with, let's get out of here. We need to find those brothers somehow."  
  
Cammy nodded as she placed another gun inside her boot. "It's a shame there aren't any knives or anything though... just guns." She rushed to Sonya's side, and together they stepped back out into the hallway, closing the door behind them. Although disconnected cameras were in the room, they hadn't noticed the connected ones placed inside the wall, catching their behavior. 


	9. Other Plans

"I want the other one."  
  
Arandia sat in the castle's throne room, lounging upon the gold throne. There were two thrones, of course. But she pushed the tendril of memory of the past out of her mind, and focused on Edward, who stood in front of her with his brother by his side. She was well aware that they captured Sonya and Cammy, but she still wanted the other one as well.  
  
She narrowed her eyes and she noticed that Alexander seemed a little... unsteady, nervous perhaps. "My son... what is bothering you?"  
  
He shifted one foot, and then the other, ignoring the stern look his elder brother gave him. "We already risked getting the two girls... we can't risk going back. One of the teams will find us. They'll notice."  
  
Arandia wrinkled her nose, as if she smelled something sour upon hearing his words. Immediately, Edward stepped forward to bow at her feet. "My brother is simply a coward, mother. I will go back for you. I can do it myself."  
  
She thought this over for a long moment, slowly moving her fingers in repetitious drumming upon the arm of her chair. "No." She commanded, a plan forming in her mind. "I will go myself. I have a bone to pick with Rayden... He won't like that I'm stealing two of his finest warriors, and I'm sure I can do some damage while I'm visiting his oh-so 'guarded' realm."  
  
She looked at her sons, her eyes moving away from where she was staring a moment before as she formulated her plan. Edward, the oh-so perfect one; he never doubted her plans, never second-guessed her commands. She almost wished she killed Alexander... not bothering with the long and exhausting process of taking over his mind. He was rarely of any use anymore, although he did capture Cammy from her fellow Street Fighters. But Edward was a gem, and it still delighted her that she didn't kill him as she planned upon taking over his family's kingdom all those years ago. He was a warrior, although his family always lived in the past... but she fixed that. Placing cameras and weapons into the castle, adding secret rooms. She detested the world they lived in... might as well spruce it up with what she was used to, leaving the medieval furnishings so that the boys wouldn't be too confused. After all, her brainwashing only went so far.  
  
She was brought back to the present, subtly shaking away her thoughts to focus on the matter at hand. Edward had stepped back again, standing obediently near his brother. But they still hadn't moved. "I want you to watch the girls while I'm gone. Check on them; post some of my guards if necessary, just so that they're not out of sight. They are still trapped in the room, aren't they?"  
  
Edward nodded positively, but Alexander looked a little unsure. Edward gave him a stern look, though, and nodded as well. Arandia noticed the exchange, but thought nothing of it. "I will leave tonight. Keep an eye on things." She smiled at them, and then waved them away. When they were gone, she stood and walked to the back of the throne room, pressing a button hidden in the wall. A door slid open, and she walked inside, the dark trails of her dress slinking upon the floor after her, barely making it before the door was closed.  
  
Once inside, she pressed her hands together and walked to the big crystal sphere set upon a stand in the middle of the room. The only room in the castle that she changed to suit her own needs, the hidden room was her escape.  
  
She gazed into the depths of the sphere, watching her latest prey sleeping in her room. It was night in that realm, and she sneered watching the sleeping raven-haired beauty. Wouldn't be very hard at all, she told herself. Not at all. 


	10. The Golden Emblem

Sonya hovered in the hallway. They decided to rest there once she raided it of cameras, and she was dismayed that the riddled pieces of metal seemed to give a path as to where they had traveled throughout the castle. But there was nothing she could do about it, so she stood with Cammy in the hallway trying to think.  
  
She was thinking moments before, that is, before they heard voices coming from a room they were standing near. She was alarmed at first, as they both were, preparing to move on before they were caught, but she recognized one of the voices.  
  
Cammy sighed, jumping slightly as Sonya poked her in the ribs, her way of warning her to stay quiet. They found the brothers, all right... alone as well, thankfully. But she was confused as she listened in to their conversation.  
  
"Why did you lie to her?" It was a voice Sonya didn't recognize, but Cammy mouthed that it was Alexander. "She's our mother... you can't just lie to her like that..."  
  
Even Sonya could tell that Edward seemed annoyed. "Because somehow I've begun to realize the truth. She's not our mother. She's trying to use us. Can't you see that?"  
  
Sonya didn't hear a reply. Evidently it didn't make him very happy. "She killed our real parents. I remember... I was young, but I remember..."  
  
"You're such a liar! If you don't believe she's our mother, then why in the world did you kidnap Sonya? Why didn't you defy her wishes, which you've already begun to do, and tell her to do it herself? And why did you even offer to get that princess girl if you think she's using you, then? You're just sucking up!"  
  
"I offered, because I wouldn't have done it. I would have gone there to warn them, not capturing someone else. And Sonya made me realize it... She made me realize that something about this is wrong. That's why I didn't tell Arandia that they escaped. I don't know where they are, but as long as she can't control them like she planned, they'll be fine."  
  
Suddenly, it clicked. Edward didn't make up the story he told her, after all. That evil woman really captured his brother, in a way... but how did he want her to help? She was still confused, but relieved that they only had one brother to deal with, after all. She was about to tell Cammy, but Cammy rushed into the room before she got a chance. Sonya sighed, and ran in after her.  
  
They were in some sort of extravagant living quarters, Edward leaning against an empty fireplace as Alexander paced the marble floor in front of it. His eyes widened upon seeing the two warriors burst in uninvited, but Edward didn't move. Cammy stood in front of them, her hands defiantly on her hips. "Okay, what's going on?"  
  
Sonya closed the door behind them, surveyed the area and was relieved to find no more cameras. She then relaxed a bit, not even trying to stop Cammy making a fool out of herself.  
  
Alexander didn't even say anything. He rushed towards Cammy, but she jumped and kicked him straight under his chin, sending him flying across the floor with a loud groan. She pulled out one of the guns in her boot, and stood over him, pointing it straight at his face. "Don't mess with me, chum. You'll regret it."  
  
"Edward... stop her!" he yelled from the floor, but he simply shook his head. "Not this time. You have to believe me. We need their help in order to stop Arandia, or else she'll abduct Sonya's friend, and who knows how many other people for her 'warrior collection.'" He crossed his arms. "You have to make that call, Alexander. Help me, or I'll tie you up and... and..." he thought a moment, "put you in a chest."  
  
"Wait..." Sonya's attention was caught upon something the guy said. "My friend? What are you talking about?" Then her mind went back to when Alexander talked about a 'princess girl'. She gasped. "This crazy freak is going to go after Kitana?"  
  
Edward nodded as she walked over to him. "She saw your friend, I guess, and saw some evil potential."  
  
"We've got to stop her!" Sonya cried, almost on her way out the door. Cammy looked over, but didn't move her arm, keeping the gun poised between Alexander's eyes.  
  
"Wait." Sonya sighed, almost out the door, but she stopped and turned back, prepared to listen to Edward's spiel. "You have to promise that you won't just leave. You need to help me." He looked at Cammy, and then his brother. "Both of us. That's why I lured you away, and I'm sorry. But I wasn't lying about needing your help. I just don't need Arandia to be suspicious of me right now."  
  
Sonya shook her head in disbelief as he stopped leaning against the fireplace, walking over to her. "You're kidding. How will you stop her then? 'Oops, I'm sorry mother, I didn't mean to kick you across the face! Here, let me clean up that blood so that I can go on sucking up to you...' If you want Cammy's and my help, then you're not going to pretend anymore. If butt kicking shall be a requirement, which it probably will be, then you're going butt-kick like you've never butt-kicked before. She's evil... you can't just let her get away with all sorts of things because you want to stay on her good side."  
  
He was silent a moment, and then a grin spread across his face. "You're cooler than I thought you were." He held out his hand. "Deal. It's time to kick the tiger out of the jungle, anyway." Sonya didn't budge. He shrugged and walked over to his brother, who was still sprawled upon the floor, and that was when she spotted what was on the back of his cape. The same golden emblem that was on the back of her clothing when she had that dream before... She immediately ignored it, sure that it was just a coincidence as all three of them hovered over Alexander, waiting for a consensus reply from him. "Are you going to help us? There's always that offer I made... quite stuffy, but maybe you'll be comfortable in a chest..." Edward coaxed. Cammy narrowed her eyes at Alexander, her way of showing him that she wasn't going to let him off the floor until he agreed. He sighed.  
  
"Fine... Let me up..." She placed the gun in her boot and backed off, letting him heave himself off the floor. They stood there, watching him as he sighed. "Why not follow my crazy brother into some crazy scheme..." Sonya heard him mutter. She glanced at Edward for a reaction, and saw that he didn't look too convinced. She was sure they could deal with his stubborn brother's reservations though. All that mattered was helping Kitana, and going home. She never promised Edward she would _stay_, just help. After all, he promised that when they were done she could return to her friends. She promised Cammy, too, that she would help the two brothers and then defeat Arandia... but she thought stopping her from taking Kitana could be considered the same thing as 'defeating' her. They'd stop her, and then leave. She knew it was a simple plan, and as they all sat in that room and figured out how to stop Arandia, she could tell that Cammy was on the same page.  
  
They definitely wouldn't stay any longer than necessary. 


	11. Switching Sides Pt 1

I'm not a martial artist, so obviously I have no idea what the fights are called... whether Lui-Kang can even do a double-cannon-kick or whathaveyou, so the descriptions will majorly suck. But keep in mind that I try and maybe I can find some names of the stances and kicks and all of that on the internet somewhere.... But for now you'll have to deal with my "He kicked him, swinging around..." descriptions of the fight sequence(s). Sorry in advance lol.

* * *

"I don't get it..."  
  
Everyone was around Nightwolf, watching the computer screen. It was Lui- Kang that spoke. "The island is visible again, _and_ there's a rip. Did we just overlook it last time?" he asked, turning to the others.  
  
"It doesn't matter. The fact is, the rip is there. So go there and close it." Raiden exclaimed, once again losing patience. "Jax," he looked over at him. "You can go this time. Maybe you'll be able to find Sonya while the others close the rip and deal with whatever came out of it."  
  
"Thanks, Raiden." ((I've been spelling it wrong. Sue me =P I'll try better this time lol))  
  
"Well... let's go." Stryker started to walk towards the shipbay, the rest following close behind. Nightwolf stayed behind with Raiden in order to monitor things.  
  
Within a matter of minutes they were again approaching the island. The red, glowing portal was still visible, and they had yet to see anything or anyone near it.  
  
Lui-Kang and Kitana's jet reached the island first, and they hastily got out of it, running towards the portal as the others landed after them.  
  
They were merely a few yards away from it, when suddenly a few dozen men jumped out, surrounding them with swords in hand. "Great...." Lui-Kang muttered.  
  
"Where are they from? They're dressed strangely..." Kitana pointed out as the others joined them. They looked as if they were dressed out of the middle ages, several of them wearing tunics and capes with boots made out of fur.  
  
"They must like to play dress up." Stryker commented, being the first to attack one of them. Soon they all started fighting, the small army trying to keep them away from the portal.  
  
Jax hadn't joined them, however. He stood behind a tree after noticing the men. He wanted to help his friends... but he knew they could deal with it without him. First he wanted to find Sonya. He darted out of sight, and started walking in the forest.  
  
"Someone needs to get to the portal!" Stryker called above the noise as he blocked another attack from the two men he was fighting.  
  
"We're all a little busy..." Sub-zero commented.  
  
"Kitana! Are you okay?" Lui-Kang asked. He noticed that the two men she was fighting had lured her some ways off from the group.  
  
"I'm fine..." She replied, kicking one of them in the groin. She turned to the other one, but was apprehended suddenly by an arm reaching out to grab her from behind.  
  
"Drop the pretty little fans, my sweet." Kitana heard the voice demand. She slowly dropped them to the ground.  
  
"KITANA!!!" Lui-Kang quickly kicked the men he was fighting, and desperately tried to run to her.  
  
"Nuh-uh-uh!" Lui-Kang stopped, helpless as he watched the women who was holding Kitana float a few inches off the ground. "Naughty, naughty! You don't want this pretty little thing to die, now, do you?"  
  
Kitana looked slightly scared, but couldn't get her hands free. The woman who was holding her had quickly tied them behind her, and her mouth was covered by the woman's hand. She could barely even breathe, let alone cry out to the others. All the while the woman kept floating above them, piercing Lui-Kang with a look of disdain.  
  
"Put your weapons down, or she dies!" The woman called to the defenders. They looked around at each other, and slowly stopped fighting, dropping any weapons they had been using. "Good... if you make one move, I'll destroy her."  
  
"You guys..." Lui-Kang looked at his communicator as he heard NightWolf's voice. "What's going on?"  
  
"Tell him that everything is fine." She noticed his reluctance. "DO IT!"  
  
"Everything... everything is fine..." He spoke into his communicator. "Things are under control."  
  
"Take them hostage, and then follow me." The woman called to her men, and they let themselves be tied up and lead through the forest following the woman who was still holding Kitana. She returned the ground, and walked in front of them, keeping a close eye on Kitana.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" ((yes.... PG-13... I think that's PG-13 language. I hope so, if not call me on it.)) Stryker demanded of her. He wasn't very happy about being tied up and led through the forest by some freak who could float in the air.  
  
"It doesn't matter." She retorted curtly, not turning around to speak. She just kept on walking, following a small path through the forest. Within a few moments she stopped and, waving her hand in front of her, seemed to create a large clearing out of thin air. She walked to the center and then stopped again, turning around to face them. Another portal appeared behind her, and she stepped back starting to go into it.  
  
Suddenly, a large red beam of light shot out of nowhere and struck her in the face. "UGH!" She cried out, and in her confusion, she reflexively let go of Kitana to touch her face with her hands.  
  
"Let her go Arandia!" Came a voice.  
  
Sub-Zero, with Kitana out of harm's way, froze his captives' arms and broke free of the ropes that bound him. Lui-Kang and the others broke free as well, and soon all of her men were sprawled on the ground within no time at all. They all ran to Kitana to help her out of the tight ropes that bound her, not even noticing Edward, Cammy, Alexander, and Sonya near the edge of the clearing.


	12. Switching Sides Pt 2

Arandia quickly recovered from the blast, noticing that her men had been defeated. It was too late to grab Kitana back, she wasn't anywhere near her now. She cursed under her breath, looking to see what caused her to fumble so clumsily.  
  
She looked up, just to witness Edward declare, "You won't get away with this."  
  
She narrowed her eyes. She had a fishy inclination that something was wrong... but she had no idea her former slaves had somehow broken free. "It's not too late, you know!" She exclaimed, defiantly. "I'll get what I want, yet." Then she disappeared into the portal, her henchmen following her once they realized what was going on. Then it closed behind them, leaving no trace.  
  
Sonya folded her arms, annoyed. "Great... Now she's gone."  
  
"We know where she went. Come on." Edward turned back from where they came from, and it was then that Sonya noticed where that strange red light came from, and her mouth dropped slightly open. He noticed her reluctance. "If you want, Alexander and I can do this alone. You can return to your friends if you'd like, maybe it would be better that way..."  
  
"No..." she sighed, sounding slightly bewildered. "I'm going to help you finish this. But..."  
  
"But what?" Edward walked over to her. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"Sonya!" They looked over to see Jax running towards them. He stopped just short of them. "What's going on?"  
  
Edward heard her sigh before replying. "Jax... I need to go. I don't know when I'll be back, but you guys can deal with stuff without me, can't you?"  
  
"Yeah, but... what's going on? Where have you been? I've looked everywhere for you. All over this damned island. It's like you disappeared..."  
  
"I can't explain. But I need you," She looked at Kitana and the rest of them. "All of you, to leave this up to me. Okay? Just forget about this island, and about that woman you saw. And don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She turned to leave with Edward, Cammy and Alexander following.  
  
"I don't know what you're doing, but Kitana was almost killed today. What if that woman tries to come back? You can't just expect us to do nothing about it!" It was Lui-Kang who spoke.  
  
"Go ahead, we'll catch up." Edward and Sonya stopped where they were, and Cammy and Alexander nodded, continuing towards the portal that was a few yards away, hidden in the surrounding trees.  
  
"I don't expect you to do nothing about it. You don't understand who that woman is, or what's happening. It would be best if you just stayed away from it. Stay away from this island, and she'll stay away from you." Sonya tried explaining. "I have to go. I'm sorry." She quickly turned from them and together she and Edward ran towards the trees, disappearing from sight.  
  
"SONYA!" He sighed, realizing he was being ignored. He wanted to run after her... he had no idea what the heck she was even talking about. "She can't just expect us to not worry about where she is..." He sighed, running a hand over his brow. "I don't get it..."  
  
"Come on, Jax." Stryker had approached him from behind, and now put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll deal with this later. Raiden needs us to return. It looks as if she's save, that's all that matters. Let's go."  
  
He took one last look towards the trees where Sonya disappeared moments before, and then followed Stryker back to the others. 


	13. Unanswered Questions

On the other side of the portal they came through, Sonya and the others emerged in the throne room. They expected to find Arandia already there, with men ready to siege upon them. But the room was empty.

"Maybe I was wrong..." Edward thought aloud once he noticed. "I thought she'd return here."

"Does she have another lair somewhere else?" Cammy asked him. "Surely this isn't the only place she stays."

"She would have told us about it... she trusted us." Alexander answered.

"So now what? She just left, without a fight even..." Sonya asked the two brothers. "I mean... we don't even have a plan, do we? What? We just find where she is, and then what? Capture her? Kill her? What did she even want with you?" She paused, and just as Edward was about to say something, she looked at what he had clutched in his hand. "And then there's that. What is that?"

He held it up, and it was Cammy who answered. "It looks like a jewel Sonya. Weird... I used to take stuff like that..."

Alexander looked at her, quizzically. "What do you mean? You used to steal it or something?"

She grinned. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. It was awhile ago."

"Huh..." He smiled. "That's cool."

"It's a ruby. A family heirloom, I guess you could say." Edward told Sonya. "That look you had on your face earlier... what was that about?"

"Nothing... I guess I just thought it looked familiar, that's all." She quickly changed the subject. "What kind of family heirloom opens portals and shoots out beams of light?"

"You meet creatures from different realms... you've seen things with six arms, and men that spit out acid... what's strange about a magical ruby?" Edward asked of her. "We aren't anywhere near your world anymore. Just because we're human, just as you are, doesn't mean we don't possess in-human powers."

Sonya sighed. He placed the ruby in his pocket, out of view. "And we're not sure what she ever wanted with us..." He replied to her previous questions. "To be honest," he started, placing a hand absentmindedly on the back of his head. "We don't really remember that much. She had us under her control for awhile."

"And that's another thing..." Sonya declared, beginning to walk about the room, keeping her eyes on him. "You just seemed to 'come out' of her spell.... Why is that? You can remember that that ruby is some sort of family heirloom, but you don't remember why Arandia wanted you and your brother in the first place. Why do you remember some things, but can't remember others?" She asked, more defiantly than quizzically, however.

He sighed, clearly at a loss for words. "You have me. But does that really matter? I remember she killed my parents, and she's kidnapping warriors based on her own demented way of selecting them... isn't that reason enough for me-for _us-_," he explained, referring to all of them, "to end her tirade? You help your team keep evil away from the earth realm, you stop realms from opening up so that no one can get through, but do you even know _why_ you do all of those things? Why you work so hard to keep creatures in whatever realms they belong and away from yours? You just do it because it's the right thing to do, you don't understand it one hundred percent. I need you to help, not necessarily understand _why,_ just realize that it's important." He exclaimed matter of factly.

"My brother always loved to talk..." Alexander said, breaking the silence afterwards with a grin.

"I do those things because at first I was sneakily talked into it, and then forced into it. I was chosen by Raiden, a GOD not a pigheaded prince without a kingdom, and therefor I had no choice. But now I do have a choice, and I have decided to help... but that means I need the whole story. Not just bits of pieces that seem to make no sense, and I am not going to go through with this without a better reason than 'because it's important'." Sonya retorted back to him, ignoring Alexander's remark.

Edward sighed. "Fine. Your friend should be important enough." He answered her.

"I told my friends to stay away from that island...." Sonya started to say.

"Wow, I don't remember Arandia ever being stuck in one realm, confined to one island. She can go anywhere, just like you and I can with the proper means. And believe me, she does have the proper means."

"But she shouldn't know where the lair is, we've kept it hidden...."

"I'm sure she could find it, I'm sure she already has." He informed her. "We need to act quickly. We don't know where she is, but I do know that she will try and take your friend again. I can guarantee it. You need to go back-,"

"I just told my friends that I would handle it! I can't just go back! They'll ask me a million more questions than I've asked you. I can't go back right now!"

"Then how will we find out when she tries to attack again? You'll need to be there."

Sonya sighed, pacing some more. She couldn't believe he was even telling her this.

"It's the only way." Edward tried telling her. "Tell them as little as possible, if that's what you want. But it's the only way we'll find her." He waited for any confirmation, and when he saw her nod, he took the ruby out of his pocket and opened a portal with it. The portal would go straight to where she stayed with the others. She walked to the portal, but then stopped and turned around.

"Here." He searched in another pocket, and brought out another jewel. The same size, placed on a golden chain with no other adornments... it was a blue diamond. "Take this. I can trace it with mine, and we'll be able to find you."

Sonya didn't notice Alexander's gaped mouth as the diamond was tossed to her, and she briefly glanced at it before placing it around her neck, carefully concealing it from view. She knew exactly what it was at first sight, but before she could begin to ask herself more questions, she turned around and ran through the portal before it closed behind her.

"Where in the world did you find that?!" Alexander stammered as soon as she was gone.

Edward didn't answer his question. "I have two more where that came from." He turned around, and lead them out of the room.


End file.
